Deseret News best of 2012: Values in the media

Researchers investigating the content of films, especially romantic comedies, are finding that love as depicted has very little to do with real life. Marriage is often portrayed as entirely distinct from romance.

And while movies are not intended or expected to be entirely realistic, scholars of communication theorize that exposure to media like romantic comedies, especially for young people, can shape expectations about both romance and marriage, shifting adolescent perceptions about what love is like, and how to show it.